It’s an insurmountable conflict of interest to have the U.S. pardon attorney reporting directly to the Justice Department’s person in charge of prosecutions.
Snow falling at the White House on Jan. 6. (White House, Oliver Contreras)
By John Kiriakou
Loud & Clear w/John Kiriakou
To the surprise of likely nobody who knows me, I asked former President Joe Biden for a presidential pardon before he left office. And to the surprise of likely nobody who knows Joe Biden, I was ignored.
I always knew that my chances of a pardon were very poor. But I thought that I at least had a shot for a number of reasons.
First, as background, I was convicted in 2012 of violating the obscure Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982. I was only the second person ever charged with violating this law. The other person confessed to spying against the U.S. for Ghana.
I knew, of course, that my charge was in retaliation for blowing the whistle on the C.I.A.’s torture program. Even my attorneys said that my case wasn’t about me. It was about frightening any C.I.A. employee from going to the media to report waste, fraud, abuse, or illegality.
Indeed, since the conclusion of my case, the C.I.A. has initiated a reward program for employees who rat out coworkers whom they suspect could become whistleblowers. And C.I.A. computer systems are now programmed to recognize when an employee might be considering blowing the whistle on illegal C.I.A. activities.
As I said, I thought I had at least a shot at a pardon for a number of reasons. First, a Greek Orthodox priest who has been very close to Biden since the 1970s kindly offered to help me by weighing in directly with the president.
Second, I had a letter signed by 70 former C.I.A., F.B.I., and NSA officers, as well as several ambassadors, generals, and judges asking Biden to pardon me. I had a floor statement from my congressman calling on the president to pardon me. I had a letter written by the man who wrote the law that I was convicted of violating saying that I should never have been charged in the first place.
I had editorials and op-eds from The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The St. Louis Post Dispatch saying that charging me was an abuse of power. And as a cherry on top, I had an op-ed written by Sen. Joe Biden saying that the law I was convicted of violating was unconstitutional and should never have been passed in the first place.
Incidentally, Biden was one of only five senators to vote against the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. He and Gary Hart are the only two still alive. Gary Hart wasn’t interested in helping me. I’m just “too controversial.”
Broken Process
U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington. (Gregory Varnum , Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
With all that said, I’ll simply try my luck with Donald Trump. I have a few ins with the Trump White House and I’ll do my best. But that’s not the point that I want to make here. The point I want to make is that the pardon process is irretrievably broken. It should be scrapped and rebuilt.
On the surface of things, the pardon process is simple. You go here and click on “Apply for Clemency.” Easy, right? Well, not so fast. At any given time, there are between 5,000 and 10,000 applications pending.
And the number of people on the pardon staff is fewer than a dozen people. Anybody currently serving a sentence can apply for a commutation. If that is granted, it simply means that you no longer have to serve the sentence.
You’re free to go home. But the conviction still stands. It remains on your record. A pardon is different. It’s forgiveness for whatever crime you have been convicted of. You are no longer guilty of having committed the crime. Once pardoned, you once again have the right to vote, the right to own a firearm, and in my case, return of my federal pension.
Again, the process is complex. Let’s say that I go online and fill out the form. It is then referred to the F.B.I., which has to do a background investigation to see if I “deserve” the pardon. Have I stayed out of trouble? Have I shown remorse for my “crime?” Believe it or not, that’s mandatory for consideration.
The F.B.I. then sends its recommendation back to the U.S. pardon attorney. With that in hand, the pardon attorney then sends the file to my prosecutors and to my sentencing judge for their comment.
As you can imagine, those two entities rarely say yes to a pardon. Once their feedback is collected, the pardon attorney makes a recommendation to the White House.
It’s based on that recommendation that the president, almost always through a lower-level aide, makes a final decision. Aside from mass pardons, like the Jan. 6 rioters or people convicted of marijuana crimes, there are precious few pardons, no matter who the president happens to be.
A president’s authority to issue a pardon is written in the Constitution. It wasn’t until 1865, however, that Congress decided to create an Office of the Pardon Clerk within the Department of Justice to handle pardon applications.
That clerk, or attorney, reported directly to the deputy attorney general. (Interestingly, this legislation came as a result of Abraham Lincoln’s habit of staying up late into the night to issue pardons.)
The office’s name has changed several times over the years, but the goals haven’t. What has changed is that the numbers of people actually granted pardons has become minuscule. Joe Biden granted just 80 pardons, Donald Trump granted 144 in his first term, Barack Obama granted 212, and George W. Bush signed off on 189.
Remember there are thousands of applications. And compare those pardons with the 1,110 granted by Dwight Eisenhower, the 1,913 given by Harry Truman, the 2,818 given by Franklin Roosevelt, and the 1,087 granted by Woodrow Wilson.
I believe that the Office of the U.S. Pardon Attorney should be independent of the Justice Department, and the office should be located in the White House’s Executive Office Building, not in the Department of Justice.
Having the pardon attorney report directly to the person in charge of prosecutions is a conflict of interest that is insurmountable for the applicant.
In addition, what more really needs to be done than a background investigation to determine if the applicant has lived a law-abiding life since release? Why do the prosecutors get a say? Why should the sentencing judge?
And what is the likelihood that they will say, essentially, “Oh, my mistake. He shouldn’t have been prosecuted. He shouldn’t have gotten such a sentence.” Almost nobody will do that.
Pardon reform is highly unlikely, however. Nobody in any position of authority is talking about it and so we’re stuck with the system that we have. With that said, I will continue to support pardons whenever I read about them.
The more, the better, ideology aside. And as for me, I’ll just keep on keeping on. Something good will come. Eventually.
John Kiriakou is a former C.I.A. counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. John became the sixth whistleblower indicted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act—a law designed to punish spies. He served 23 months in prison as a result of his attempts to oppose the Bush administration’s torture program.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
No doubt, “the $ystem is broke!” “Pardon reform is highly unlikely, however. Nobody in any position of authority is talking about it and so we’re stuck with the system that we have. With that said, I will continue to support pardons whenever I read about them” John Kiriakou
…. Never Say Die!!! “Too many bends on a footpath do not prevent one from reaching one’s destination.” Cameroonian proverb, i.e., “The more, the better, ideology aside. And as for me, I’ll just keep on keeping on. Something good will come. Eventually.” John Kiriakou’
“Eventually?” No offense; but, F/That!!! Imo, “eventually” has come & gone. Imo, John Kiriakou is absophknlutely right, “it’s time to escalate & expedite to the Executive, President Trump!!!” President Trump has the “power” to execute a Certificate of Pardon, for John Kiriakou. President Trump has the power to rightfully, respectfully, hand-deliver, returning to John Kiriakou “his right to vote, his right to own a firearm, the right to his earned benefits, his federal pension.”
The ask, of President Trump, “Just Do It!” In a heartbeat! Like on January 20, 2025, “President Trump’s Proclamation Granting Pardons and Commutations of Sentences for Certain Offenses Relating to the Events at or Near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,”
AND, “To obtain a copy of your certificate, please send an email to, USPardon[dot]Attorney@usdoj.gov with the phrase “January 20, 2025 Pardon Certificate” in the subject line. Include the following information in your email: Full name. Prison register number (if you have one). District Court case number. We will then send you an email with a copy of your certificate. Please allow at least 10 business days to process your request.” hxxps://www.justice.gov/pardon/president-trumps-proclamation-granting-pardons-and-commutations-sentences-certain-offenses
Imo, John Kiriakou’s “ask” for a presidential pardon, the negligence thereto, needs to go viral! ASAP! Seriously, a “Joe Rogan Experience.” Three (3) Hours, Joe Rogan hosting John Kiriakou, engaging the Millions who trumped, every opportunity of “Four (4) Mo’ Years” of a Kamala Harris & Jo$eph ‘Derelict” Biden presidency. IF, only, those Trumpers woulda voted Stein-Ware, John Kiriakou would be FREE of The Beast’s inhumanity. Imo, “give the people what they want, “Whistleblowers” to be protected NOT persecuted, for f/years!!! Otherwise, Presidents 42-47 oughta “take the only tree that’s left; &, stuff it up that hole in their culture.”
IMO, “We,” the people, need to “spam” the powerful w/texts, emails, letters, signage, flyers, phone calls, to “Pardon, John Kiriakou,” yesterday! “John Kiriakou, we are so sorry!!!” “I can’t run no more with that lawless crowd. While the killers in high places say their prayers out loud; But, they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up a thundercloud. They’re going to hear from me.” Leonard Cohen, ‘Anthem.’
TY, John Kiriakou, CN, et al. “Keep It Lit.”
John, it is always sad to have to acknowledge the fact that our government is not now (if it was ever) really sincere about Justice- any more than it is about democracy. What Biden did, and didn’t do is a testament to that; though Biden is (as you might have expected) one of those least likely to give a damn about either of those two qualities. I suppose Trump will be no better, really; but I will keep my hopes up. You deserve not only a pardon; but the thanks of a free people for your efforts and sacrifices; and a lot more.
I can only offer you my own gratitude.
I wrote to you a letter of admiration when you were in prison, Mr. Kiriakou, and you wrote me back. I still have that letter and I cherish it.
Good information. Although I’ve never been concerned about applying for a pardon, knowing this now I can just completely forget about it.
One year after I finished a federal sentence and supervised release for growing marijuana, I wrote my judge a sarcastically searing 32-page letter explaining exactly how his ruling against me after an 8-day Franks hearing to suppress the search warrant was completely dishonest, a set of intentional lies on his part.
I filed my letter as the last document in my case, and sent copies CC to more than a dozen federal judges who had handled any portion of my criminal and civil cases and two appeals in hopes that I could embarrass my judge in their eyes–if they cared–or at least make him wonder what they thought of him behind his back in their collegial club.
I figure that my best option is to go balls to the wall, inadvertently following one of the rules have I have since read John say that he learned in the CIA–that when stability is not to your benefit, then chaos is your friend. And as Timothy Leary learned from Marshall McLuhan–always do it with a smile.
I have read Bob Parry’s accounts of Iran – Contra. Seems kissing Bush41’s ass was a way for Bill to get elected. Especially considering Bill Barr’s trip to Arkansas to talk to bill about cooling it with the banking legislation he was pushing down there at the time and the rumors about CIA / CIA contractors operating at Mena airport .
Bill Barr is reported to also have counseled Bill not to pursue BCCI after he was elected, at the time as well as recommending pardons all around. They made Slick Willy a deal he could not afford to turn down.
I’m sure I don’t have to tell John about this though.
Actually, they appear to have told Clinton he could be president *after* Bush the 1st was re-elected. Bill failed to take the dive which is why they messed with him throughout his 2 terms, even though he was doing a lot of stuff they surely agreed with… Nice of Bill (and Obama) not to investigate the Bush Cartel’s many crimes, so I suppose he honored that part of the agreement
Political prosecutions and pardons are authoritarian tools; there is little point in pretending that justice is an issue. As people with more authoritarian and sociopathic tendencies increase their positions and numbers in elected office (which seems to be a ‘natural’ progression like the entropy of a physical system) such uses will increase — of course, there needs to be push back, but the more fundamental issue is the quality of the people funneled by our political system into positions of authority. I do wish Mr. Kiriakou the best of luck (and effective sources of leverage!)
At the rate this is going, soon a President will pardon more turkeys than human beings during a term of office.
“More turkeys than human beings” (Chuckle!) That’s probably true.
Burdick v. United States, 236 U.S. 79 (1915)
The current judicial precedent for what a pardon actually means is stated in the law cited above. “…a pardon… carries an imputation of guilt and acceptance of a confession of it.” I’m not sure how this language squares with the ideas expressed in the article. If Kiriakou can be pardoned, without acceptance and acknowledgment of guilt, I’m all for it. The cited case was very important in order to protect the rights of a journalist to not be coerced into revealing his sources, by removing his right under the Fifth Amendment, though the use of a pardon. I’d like to know more about how this is supposed to work in Kiriakou’s case.
I was wondering the same in regard to the statement “You are no longer guilty of having committed the crime. ” I thought the guilt remained, but he onus was removed and rights restored.
To put the number of pardons by people like FDR and Ike into context, one could perhaps consult the number of federal prisoners held. I found a source for number of prisoners 1938-1940, by prison, and its total appears to be 16,500 or so.
hxxps://www.acrosswalls.org/datasets/us-prisoners-fed-state-1940/
The BOP has a page for current totals … 142,529 held directly by BOP, 12,493 in “other” facilities (hmm, does that include Gitmo?) a total of 155,000
hxxps://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/population_statistics.jsp
So, old crooked Joe pardoned 80 from a population of 155,000, while FDR pardoned almost 3,000 from a population of 16,500.
I guess that’s what they mean when they keep saying “Freedom isn’t Free.”
Power to the People.
I do believe in a need for a pardoning power to correct injustice. However, if after 200+ years of seeing this used corruptly by Presidents, playing games with people appointed to serve in the President’s Executive Branch is not the answer. Power to the People. Make pardons an act of Democracy. Let the people vote on it.
Since I am pro-Freedom and thus anti-lock-them-up, I wouldn’t even say a 50% +1 should be required to let Freedom Ring. Could set a lower level. If 40% or 33% of voters feel that a conviction was unjust and should be overturned, then we could then let the chimes of freedom ring and set that person free.
But, the answer to this problem is democracy. Power to the People. Take power away from officials and lawyers and even the elite Mega-Donors that run both political parties and the whole dang system. Power to the People!
Great point that makes it even more shocking
Like so much else, the system seems setup to make sure you cannot win. Except of course when a pardon suits THEM.
Of course, this is only a final stage in a long line of injustices. This is the America where Eugene Debs gets locked up in Federal Prison for opposing a war. But, if you oppose a war against Adolf Hitler like Lindbergh did, well, “Lucky Lindy” did not become a federal prisoner. Some lucky people don’t even have to apply for pardons. Oliver North didn’t seem to have a problem getting one. If you know the right oligarchs, then democracy and freedom luckily works for you. If you don’t know the right oligarchs, well, …
Are you implying the Jan 6 protesters should not have been pardoned?
That day, and its fallout, reek of Deep State efforts to derail Trump. Hopefully, Patel will help expose that rot.
And John, whistleblowers are the most honorable, but endangered, of the species.
You are so right, JonT.